Security Council asks Yemeni parties to avoid security vacuums

The UN Security Council on Thursday asked all Yemeni parties to avoid any security vacuums that can be exploited by terrorists or other violent groups.

In a press statement, the 15-nation council voiced its strong concern about intensified terrorist attacks in Yemen, while stressing that a political solution to the country's crisis is essential to address the threat of terrorism.

In late August, a suicide bombing that targeted an army recruiting compound in Yemen's southern port city of Aden left at least 65 people dead and 55 injured. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed warned the Security Council that the current military escalation in Yemen is fueling the expansion of terrorist groups.

Ever since the UN-sponsored peace talks between Yemeni rival factions collapsed last month, fighting escalated inside Yemen and on the northern borders with Saudi Arabia.

In this regard, the Security Council urged the parties in Yemen to immediately resume consultations without preconditions with the UN special envoy.

"The members of the Security Council stressed to all parties that any new political arrangements should be the result of an agreement following negotiations under UN auspices, and not the result of unilateral actions by any side," said the statement.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active insurgencies in the Middle East.

The security situation in the country has deteriorated since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

More than 6,400 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, half of them civilians. Endit